Replaceable deflector blade structure for a papermaking machine

ABSTRACT

ARRANGEMENT FOR RELEASING A FOIL OR DEFLECTOR BLADE ASSOCIATED WITH A TRVELING FOURDRINIER WIRE TO ENABLE THE BLADE TO BE QUICKLY REPLACED. THE DEFLECTOR BLADE, WHICH CONSTITUTES A DE-WATERING ELEMENT, HAS A DOVETAIL BY WHICH IT IS HELD ON A RAIL BY A DOVETAIL RECESS FORMED BY THE RAIL AND A SLIDE POSITIONED IN THE RAIL. LONGITUDINAL POSITION OF THE SLIDE IN THE RAIL DETERMINES WHETHER THE DOVETAIL RECESS IS NARROWED TO GRIP THE DOVETAIL OF THE DEFLECTOR BLADE AND THEREBY HOLD IT ON THE RAIL OR IS WIDENED TO RELEASE THE DOVETAIL, AND THEREBY PERMIT EASY REMOVAL OF THE BLADE FROM THE RAIL.

y 4, 71971 A. G. PI'ETTE 3,577,316

REPLACEABLE DEFLECTOR BLADE STRUCTURE FOR A PAPERMAKING MACHINE FiledJan. 6, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

121241 6 'EZQQZZ May 4, 1971 A. a. PIETTE REPLACEABLE DEFLECTOR BLADESTRUCTURE FOR A PAPERMAKING MACHINE ZSheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 6, 1969IN VENTOR.

fl zd z 5 Z ATTORNEYS United States Patent office 3,577,316 Patented May4, 1971 US. Cl. 162352 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Arrangement forreleasing a foil or deflector blade associated with a travelingFourdrinier wire to enable the blade to be quickly replaced. Thedeflector blade, which constitutes a de-watering element, has a dovetailby which it is held on a rail by a dovetail recess formed by the railand a slide positioned in the rail. Longitudinal position of the slidein the rail determines whether the dovetail recess is narrowed to gripthe dovetail of the deflector blade and thereby hold it on the rail oris widened to release the dovetail and thereby permit easy removal ofthe blade from the rail.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates toimprovements in papermaking machines and more particularly to animproved mounting for a deflector blade constituting a de-wateringelement positioned beneath a traveling Fourdrinier wire.

It has been customary in paper-making machines having a travelingFourdrinier wire, to provide one or more deflector blades betweensuction flat boxes and a breast roll, the deflector blades serving as dewatering devices for the paper slurry deposited on the traveling wirefrom a headbox located near the breast roll. It has proved desirable forthe purposes of repair or replacement that the deflector blades bequickly and easily removed from their supports. Yet during operation ofthe paper-making machines it has been important for the deflector bladesto be securely held in their supports. The blades are of considerablelength which has contributed to the difficulties of firm holding of theblades and quick removal thereof.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improvedarrangement by which a deflector blade is firmly and fixedly held inposition during operation and yet is easily removed from its support,which arrangement involves an adjustable dovetail groove that can beeasily widened to release a dovetail on the blade and easily narrowed togrip the dovetail of the blade.

Other and further important objects of this invention will becomeapparent from the attached drawings and the detailed descriptionfollowing the brief description of the drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A deflector blade has a dovetail held in adovetail groove formed between a rail support and a slide that islongitudinally shiftable along the dovetail groove. Engaging regions ofthe slide and the support rail are provided with recesses andprojections so that when the slide is in one position with respect tothe rail, the recesses and projections are out of engagement with oneanother and the dovetail groove is narrowed to grip the dovetail of thedeflector blade, and in another position of the slide with respect tothe rail the recesses and projections engage one another and thedovetailed groove is widened to release the dovetail of the deflectorblade. When the dovetail groove is narrowed and firmly grips thedovetail of the deflector blade, the blade is firmly held in position inthe rail. When the dovetail recess is widened so as to release thedovetail of the deflector blade, the blade may be easily removed bybeing slid lengthwise out of the rail.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic elevationalview of a papermaking machine of which the deflector blade and theimproved mounting thereof of the present invention are a part.

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view showing the mounting of thedeflector blade on a rail and a slide.

FIG. 3 is an end view, with two portions broken away in section, of therail.

F 1G. 4 is an end 'view of the slide.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the rail.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the slide.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line VII-VII of FIG.2, showing the cooperating recesses of the rail and the slide inengagement with one another.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 7, but showing the recessesand projections of the slide and rail out of engagement with oneanother.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary side view showing the parts by which the slideis moved longitudinally with respect to locking means. Longitudinalposition of the slide 24, i.e.,

into and out of the plane of FIG. 2, with respect to the rail 23,determines whether the channel 22 is narrowed to grip or lock thedovetail 21 or is widened to release the dovetail.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the slide 24 has a plurality of projections25 distributed in spaced relationship along its length, and the rail 23has a plurality of recesses 26 distributed along its length in spacedrelationship, which recesses mate with the projections 25 on the slide24. 'When the slide 24 and the rail 23 are in the relative position ofFIG. 7, the projections 25 are in mating engagement with the recesses26, and the slide 24 is as far to the right as viewed in FIG. 7 as itcan go with respect to the rail 23, with the result that the dovetailchannel 22 is widened to release the dovetail 21 of the deflector blade20. Thus the deflector blade 20 can be removed longitudinally from therail 23, i.e. by upward or downward movement as viewed in FIG. 2, i.e.,by movement perpendicular tothe plane of FIG. 2. 'When the slide 24 andthe rail 23 are in the relative position of FIG. 8, the projections 25are out of engagement with the recesses 26 and in engagement withregions adjacent and between the recesses so that the slide 24 is movedto the left as viewed in FIG. 8, with the result that the dovetailchannel 22 is narrowed to grip the dovetail 21 of the deflector blade20.

As shown in FIG. 3, the rail 23 has a longitudinal groove 27 composed ofa shallow portion 28 and a deep portion 29. The shallow portion 28 ofthe groove has a slop-ing undercut side 30 which is away from the deepportion 20. The deep portion 20 of the groove 27 has a side 31 which isaway from the shallow portion 28 and in which the recesses 26 areformed. The deep portion 29 of the groove 27 has at one side a shallowregion 32 which is adjacent and beneath the shallow region 28 of thegroove.

As shown in FIG. 4, the slide 24 has on the side away from theprojections 25, a sloping undercut surface 32 and a shallow ledge 33,both extending longitudinally of the slide. When, as shown in FIG. 2,the slide 24 and the rail 23 are assembled, the ledge 33 of the slide 24is received in the shallow region 32 of the deep portion 29 of thegroove 27 in which it fits. The dovetailed channel 22 is formed by theshallow portion 28 of the groove 27 in the rail 23 and is defined at itssides by the undercut surface 30 on the slide 23 and the undercutsurface 32 on the slide 24.

As shown in FIG. 9, the rail 23 is secured to a body 34. Either or bothof these parts congitute a supporting frame means. A bracket 35 issecured to one end of the body 34 and includes spaced ears 36. A knurlednut 37 is rotatably mounted on and between the ears 36 so as to bepermitted rotative movement with respect to the ears and to be heldagainst axial movement with respect thereto. A threaded rod 38 issecured to one end of the slide 24, projects freely through the spacedears 36, and has threaded engagement with the nut 37. Rotation of thenut 37 produces longitudinal movement of the threaded rod 38 and theslide 24 between the positions of FIGS. 7 and 8'. The nut 37 and rod 38constitute means for shifting the locking means or slide 24.

As shown in FIG. 1, one or more foils or deflector blades 20 inconjunction with their associated rails 23 and slides 24 may be used ina papermaking machine that includes a Fourdrinier wire 39 in the form ofa loop, a breast roll 40 in one end of the loop, a couch roll 41 withinthe other end of the loop, one or more suction devices 42 beneath theupper side of the loop, and a plurality of return rolls 43 within andwithout the lower side of the loop, and a headbox 44 adjacent the breastroll 40 and outside the loop. The deflector blades 20 are locatedbeneath the upper side of the loop of the wire 39 between the breastroll 36 and the suction devices 42 and serve as dewatering devices. Apaper web is formed on the traveling wire 39 on the outer surface of itsupper side and is supplied by the headbox 44. As the paper web moves tothe right as viewed in FIG. 1, water is removed therefrom by thedeflector blades 20 and the suction devices 43. The paper web is pickedoff the traveling wire 39 by a pickup felt (not shown) adjacent thecouch roll 41.

It will be appreciated that the deflector blades 20 must be held veryfirmly during operation of the papermaking machine. Each deflector blade20 is firmly held in the rail 23 by the slide 24 when the slide and railare in the relative position of FIG. 8 in which the projections 25 onthe slide are out of engagement with the recesses 26 in the rail 23.Thus, the slide 24 is to the left as viewed in FIG. 8, and the dovetailchannel 22 formed between the rail 23 and the slide 24 is narrowed togrip the dovetail 21 of the detector blade 20.

When the deflector blade 20 is to be removed from its rail 23 and slide24, rotation of the nut 37, shown in FIG. 9, acts through the threadedrod 38 to move the slide 24 longitudinally and thus to bring about therelative position of the slide 24 and the rail 23 illustrated in FIG. 7.In this position, the projections 25 engage the recesses 26 and theslide 24 is to the right as viewed in FIG. 7, with the result that thedovetail channel 22 is widened and releasesits grip on the dovetail 21of the blade 20. Now the blade is easily moved longitudinally out of therail 23 and slide 24.

The repaired blade or the new blade is positioned in the rail 23 andslide 24, and the slide 24 is shifted by rotation of the nut 37 from theposition of FIG. 7 to that of FIG. 8

to narrow the dovetail channel 22. The channel now grips the dovetail 21of the blade 20, and the machine is again ready for operation.

The drawings and specification present a detailed disclosure of thepreferred embodiment of the invention, and it is to be understood thatthe invention is not limited to the specific form disclosed, but coversall modifications, changes, and alternative constructions falling withinthe scope of the principles taught by the invention.

I claim:

' 1. In a papermaking machine, an assembly compris- (a) a de-wateringdevice extending across the paper machine beneath the Fourdrinier wire,

(b) a supporting frame means for carrying the dewatering device,

(c) a locking means for holding the de-watering device rigidly in theframe against displacement with respect thereto in the machinedirection, and

(d) displacing means for shifting the locking means in the cross-machinedirection to loosen the de-watering device in the machine direction andthereby to enable it to be easily removed from the frame means bymovement in the cross-machine direction,

the supporting frame means and the locking means having matingprojections and recesses distributed in the cross-machine direction, theprojections and recesses being out of engagement when the de-wateringdevice is held against movement in the cross-machine direction and inthe machine direction, operation of the displacing means bringing theprojections and recesses into engagement for loosening of thede-watering device in the supporting frame means.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein the de-Watering device hasa dovetail, the supporting frame means and the locking means jointlyform a dovetail channel receiving the dovetail of the tie-wateringdevice, the groove is narrowed to grip the dovetail by disengagement ofthe projections and recesses from one another, and the groove is widenedto loosen the dovetail by engagement of the projections and recesseswith one another.

3. An assembly according to claim 2, wherein the grooves are formedon'the supporting frame means and the projections are formed on thelocking means.

4. In a papermaking machine, an assembly comprismg:

(a) a deflector blade extending in the cross-machine direction andhaving a longitudinal dovetail extending in the same direction,

(b) a support rail having a longitudinally extending groove composed ofshallow and deep portions extending side by side along the groove,

(c) a slide positioned in the deep portion of the groove and extendingtherealong,

one side of the slide and the shallow portion of the groove cooperatingso as to form a dovetail channel engaging the dovetail on the deflectorblade,

the other side of the slide and the side of the deep portion of thegroove away from the shallow portion thereof having mating projectionsand recesses distributed in the cross-machine direction, the said oneside of the slide underlying a side of the deep portion of the grooveadjacent the shallow portion thereof, and

(d) means for shifting the slide longitudinally in the cross-machinedirection in the groove between a position in which the projections andrecesses are out of engagement with one another and the dovetail channelis narrowed to grip the deflector blade, and a position in which theprojections and recesses engage one another and the dovetail channel iswidened to loosen its grip on the dovetail of the deflector blade.Refererses Cited in An assembly according to claim 4, further compris-UNITED STATES PATENTS (a) abodysecuredtothe rail, 3,393,124 7/1968Klingler et a1. 162 352 (b) a bracket secured to the body and havingspaced 5 3,140,225 7/1964 TruXa 162-352 ears, FOREIGN PATENTS the meansfor displacing the shde longitudlnally 717,289 9/1965 Canada 162 352comprising a knurled nut rotatably mounted bethe ears and held againstaxial movement with S. LEON BASHORE, Primary Examiner respect thereto,and a threaded rod secured to 10 one end of the slide and extendingthrough the TUSHIN Asslstant Examiner spaced ears freely and through thenut in thread- US. Cl. X.R.

ed engagement therewith. 162-211; 287-64

